Justice
by ChoCedric
Summary: Story 1 of 2 concerning the night of the Shrieking Shack reunion between the remaining Marauders and Harry at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. This one goes through part of the chapter Cat, Rat, and Dog, explaining Sirius's feelings instead of Harry's.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Here is the first story in a set of stories about the night Sirius was reunited with Remus and Harry. This one takes you through part of the chapter Cat, Rat, and Dog from POA. It includes Sirius's feelings, not Harry's.

Justice

By: ChoCedric

As Sirius Black, in his dog form, carried Ron down the Whomping Willow and to the Shrieking Shack, he finally felt as though something was going right. After all the lonely years he'd spent on the island of Azkaban, wrongly imprisoned for apparently betraying his best friends to their deaths and killing another best friend, justice was finally going to be done. And Peter Pettigrew was finally going to get what was coming to him. It was difficult to carry the struggling boy, but he was spurned on by the hatred and anger he felt for Peter. He could hear him squeaking in the boy's pocket, and he knew that eventually he'd have to show himself.

When they got to the shack and up to the bedroom, he lowered Ron onto the floor. If Harry was anything like James, he would come to rescue his friend. The cat Sirius had befriended would surely help him through the task of freezing the willow.

As Sirius changed back into himself, Ron screamed. He knew he was a sight; his filthy black hair was extremely long, and his gray eyes were haunted from the ghosts of Azkaban. Memories which the dementors had dredged up churned inside him like an angry stream of water. He also couldn't help but remember all the times the four Marauders had shared in this room. How ironic that justice would be accomplished in this place.

"YOU!" Ron bellowed, trying to get up. "SIRIUS BLACK, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?"

"Calm down," said Sirius in a voice that was hoarse from disuse. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oh yeah? What's stopping you?" snorted Ron. "You weren't scared of hurting all those Muggles before, were you? You didn't have a problem with sneaking into our room and slashing at my curtains, did you?"

Sirius winced internally. "Just stay put," he told the boy. "You can't run away, anyway. Your leg is broken."

Ron struggled, but eventually lay defeated upon the floor, with a terrified but determined look on his face. "I'm going to stop you from hurting Harry," he said. He then went silent, as did Sirius, but a few minutes later, they heard footsteps. They knew it was probably Harry.

It was Crookshanks. He came into the room and lay upon the magnificent four-poster bed, beginning to purr. Seconds later, Harry and the bushy-haired girl Sirius had seen before dashed inside as well.

"Ron--are you okay?" Harry cried.

"Where's the dog?" the girl asked.

"Not a dog," Ron moaned. "Harry, it's a trap ..."

"What ..."

"HE's the dog. He's an ANIMAGUS." Ron was staring at Sirius as he spoke. Grinning maniacally, Sirius closed the door with a snap. Revenge was finally going to be dished out.

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them. He caught their wands as they sailed towards him. He gazed at Harry, taking in his godson. Gods, he's so thin, he thought to himself. "I thought you'd come and help your friend," he told him. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful ... it will make everything much easier. ..."

A look of complete and utter hatred came over Harry's face, and it broke Sirius's heart. Of course Harry had been told the lie about how he had betrayed James and Lily and killed Peter. He started forward to attack him, but Ron and the bushy-haired girl held him back. "No, Harry!" Hermione whispered, terrified.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron said ferociously. He tried to move, but he swayed slightly with the effort of walking.

A memory surfaced in Sirius; he had said the very same thing to a Death Eater when he'd threatened to kill James. He, Remus, Peter, and Lily had all surrounded his hazel-eyed best friend. A deep sadness overwhelmed him as he realized that Ron had the same kind of friendship with Harry that he'd had with James. It made him miss his "brother" all the more. "Lie down," he told Ron quietly. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly. "You'll have to kill all three of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Sirius, his maniacal grin widening.

"Why's that?" spat Harry furiously. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew. ... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?" The taunt tore at Sirius's heartstrings; his own godson despised him.

"Harry!" the bushy-haired girl whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry bellowed, and he broke free of Ron's and the girl's grips and lunged forward. He began to punch Sirius with all his might. The wand tips let out sparks that missed Harry's face by inches, but the boy seemed not to care. Sirius could see in his godson's eyes the urge to kill him, to cause as much pain as possible. Sirius would have gladly let him; the agonizing guilt assaulted him once again, but he knew that Peter had to be dealt with. Ron and the girl were screaming and yelling, and his hand found Harry's throat. "No," he hissed. "I've waited too long ..."

Harry choked. The girl's foot swung out of nowhere, and Sirius grunted in pain. Ron had thrown himself on his wand hand, and Harry's wand went rolling across the floor towards him. Harry reached for it, but--

"Argh!" Crookshanks had sunk his claws deep into Harry's arm. Harry fought him off, but the cat was now going for his wand. "NO YOU DON'T!" the boy snarled, and kicked Crookshanks, making him leap aside. Harry snatched up his wand and turned. "Get out of the way!" he screamed at his friends. They did, and Ron collapsed onto the bed, his white face now tinged with green. Harry pointed his wand straight at Sirius's heart.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered, truly scared for his life.

"You killed my parents," Harry accused again.

"I don't deny it," Sirius admitted ashamedly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" repeated Harry ferociously. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know." Sirius noted the fact that his godson had spoken Voldemort's name, another thing that was just like James.

"You've got to listen to me," pleaded Sirius. "You'll regret it if you don't. ... You don't understand. ..."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, his voice trembling. "You never heard her, did you? My mum ... trying to stop Voldemort killing me ... and you did that ... you did it. ..."

Oh Gods, thought Sirius. What've I done? How could Harry have heard his mum pleading with Voldemort not to kill him? The dementors must have affected him, he thought guiltily. He wanted to do nothing but let Harry murder him, but Peter absolutely had to pay for his betrayal. Crookshanks leapt on to Sirius's chest as if to protect him from Harry's intentions. "Get off," said Sirius, but Crookshanks wouldn't shift, and he sank his claws into Sirius's robes. But Harry still held onto his wand, and Sirius could see that he was more than prepared to kill the cat as well if he had to.

Harry raised his wand, preparing for the kill. Did Harry know the killing curse? Sirius wondered. But the seconds lengthened, and his godson still didn't act. Hope began to bloom in Sirius; maybe Harry wasn't going to kill him after all.

Then, suddenly, muffled footsteps were heard. Who could be coming now? Sirius thought resignedly. "WE'RE UP HERE!" the girl shrieked. "WE'RE UP HERE--SIRIUS BLACK--QUICK!"

Sirius moved, and it almost dislodged Crookshanks. Harry raised his wand even higher, but then the door to the room burst open.

The face Sirius saw in the doorway shocked him beyond belief. It was Remus Lupin. Sirius didn't know what to do or say. He had both dreaded and longed for this moment, to tell Remus the truth. But how was Remus at the school? And what a coincidence he was here! This night was truly a reunion for the remaining Marauders.

Remus's face flickered through many expressions as it passed over every occupant of the room. "Expelliarmus!" he finally yelled, and Harry's wand and the two wands the girl was holding flew into his hand. The werewolf walked into the room.

After a few seconds he spoke in a very tense voice, his face expressionless as he looked at his old friend. "Where is he, Sirius?" he asked.

Shock poured over Sirius in one humungous wave. Could Remus know the truth already? But how? It was impossible. But hope burned in Sirius's chest as he pointed right at Ron, right where Pettigrew was hiding.

"But then," muttered Remus, looking at Sirius intently, "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless ..." He pondered over this for a minute. His eyes suddenly widened, and he continued, ?--unless HE was the one ... unless you switched ... without telling me?"

Wow, Sirius thought, amazed. Good old Remus had worked it all out. But how? His hope grew as he gazed at Remus, his eyes holding more emotion than he could describe as he slowly nodded.

"Professor," Harry said loudly. Professor? thought Sirius with more shock. Remus is a professor? He must teach Defense Against the Dark Arts! "What's going on?" Harry continued loudly.

But Remus didn't answer him. Instead he lowered his wand and walked to Sirius's side, helping him to his feet and embracing him like a brother. And there was thirteen years of sorrow and apologies in that embrace, thirteen years of pent-up feelings and emotions. Sirius couldn't believe it, this was too good to be true. His last remaining friend believed him. Now they only had to try to make Harry listen.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" the girl screamed, interrupting the embrace. "You--you ..."

"Hermione ..." Remus started.

"You and him!"

"Hermione, calm down ..."

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you ..."

What on Earth is Hermione talking about? Sirius thought. Could it be that she'd worked it out, like he, James, and Peter had all those years ago? Could she know about his lycanthropy?

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Remus shouted. "I can explain ..."

"I trusted you!" Harry roared, his voice trembling, "and all the time, you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," Remus told him. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now-- Let me explain. ..."

"NO!" Hermione howled. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too-- HE's A WEREWOLF!"

Sirius felt anger boil within him. She was as prejudiced as the rest of the wizarding world, believing werewolves to be evil, murderous creatures. He wanted to shake some sense into her, to tell her to broaden her horizons and not be so fixed in her ways.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," said Remus in his calm manner. Same old Remus, Sirius thought fondly. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead. ..." Remus continued. A tremor passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron tried to get up again, but fell back with a whimper of pain. Remus made to help him, but he shouted, "Get away from me, werewolf!" causing another spurt of anger to fly through Sirius. What was the matter with these people? He'd been teaching them the entire year and one little fact about him turned them against him!

Remus stopped, a pained expression coming over his face. But it was gone swiftly, and he turned back to Hermione. "How long have you known?" he asked.

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay. ..."

"He'll be delighted," said Remus, a note of bitterness in his tone. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant. ... Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," said Hermione. Sirius was impressed, despite his anger, at how smart Hermione was. But something Remus had said caught him as odd. Professor Snape. Surely that greasy git couldn't be teaching here? It wasn't possible! How could that bastard be a teacher?

Remus forced a laugh. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!" The fury churned inside Sirius again at this comment. The urge to shake her was overwhelming.

"But they already know," said Remus, unperturbed. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron breathed. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Remus. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy ..."

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry snarled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"

Sirius walked over to the bed and sank onto it, Crookshanks making himself comfortable on his lap. This is going to be a long night, Sirius thought.

"I have NOT been helping Sirius," Remus tried. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look ..." He threw the wands he had back to their respective owners. He put his own back into his belt. "There. You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

"If you haven't been helping him," said Harry, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," answered Remus, sending Sirius into more profound shock. The ghosts of his past were truly showing themselves tonight. How had Remus gotten hold of the map? The last time Sirius had seen it was in the Marauders' seventh year at Hogwarts. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it ..."

"You know how to work it?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Remus, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony--that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote ..."

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" He started to pace up and down the room. "You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry ..."

"How do you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it ..." said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

Ah, thought Sirius. That's how he knew about Peter. Even in their Animagus forms, the map had still shown their real names.

"What?" said Harry, surprised. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Remus continued as though Harry hadn't said anything. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us," said Harry.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black. ... I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow ..."

"One of us!" Ron said furiously.

"No, Ron. Two of you. Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he asked, stopping his pacing.

"What?" said Ron, bewildered. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Remus grimly. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, but eventually retrieved Pettigrew from his pocket. The rat was thrashing violently, trying to escape. Ferocious anger roiled in Sirius's gut as he and Remus stared at him. "What?" said Ron, sounding scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius.

"What do you mean--of course he's a rat ..."

"No, he's not," said Remus softly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Sirius, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

And if he had anything to say about it, justice would be done. He would be free, and he could take his godson to live with him. He knew James would never come back and the true Marauders would never all be together again, but avenging him and Lily was all he could hope to achieve.

And so he steeled himself, ready for the confrontation.


End file.
